Nuwara Eliya

Nuwara Eliya is a city in the Hill Country of Sri Lanka. Its temperate climate gives the city a very different feel from other parts of the country and, along with the colonial architecture, has earned it the name 'Little England'.

Contents

Get in

By train - the train journey from Colombo or Kandy to nearby Nanu Oya is spectacular. Local buses run frequently from Nanu Oya to the centre of Nuwara Eliya. Three wheelers/tuk tuks are also present at the station.

By bus - buses can be taken from Colombo or Kandy.

Get around

The town centre is small enough to walk around. To visit sites further afield, take a bus or hire a three-wheeler.

See

Haggala Botanical Gardens are very impressive and a short bus ride away.

Pedro Tea Factory offers fascinating tours. In the hills nearby there are paths thorugh the tea plantations to wander along.

"Hortons Plains and World's End" Offer fascinating walks though this temperate mountain environment, with an 800m vertical drop to be found at World's End.

Within the town itself there are a number of interesting sights. The Post Office is a very unusual building - a remnant of the colonial era. Victoria Park nearby is a pleasant place to spend an hour or so, with an astonishing variety of plants, ranging from tropical rain forest to English country garden.

Do

Take a walk up through the tea plantations south-west of the town to the top of Single Tree Mountain for a splendid view over Nuwara Eliya. From the hill top you can walk north for a couple of kilometres along the ridgetop to a nearby village and get a tuc-tuc/three-wheeler or walk back to town from there.